Rising sixty feet above the flat eastern plains of Colorado on U.S. Highway 24 east
of Limon is the Genoa Wonder Tower. This one time popular roadside
stop was built by Charles W. Gregory in 1926, a railroad engineer and
entrepreneur. Looking a little like an out of place lighthouse on
the vast prairie, the attraction initially included a motel, restaurant,
and gas station. During this golden age of travel, these were
referred to as "one stops."

When the attraction first
opened, Gregory, touted as Colorado’s P.T. Barnum of the time, would stand
at the top of the tower, yelling through a megaphone at passing cars
enticing them to stop.

Over the years, Gregory added to his dream by covering the wood-frame
additions with stone and converting the interior into imitation caverns. The site became an official Greyhound bus station and a popular truck
stop. However, when Gregory died in 1942, the property fell into
disrepair and ten years later, when the attraction was bypassed by
Interstate 70, it proved almost to be a death kneel.

The motel, station,
and restaurant are long gone, but the tower itself still stands,
continuing to invite travelers for a roadside stop. Inside, you'll
find a large collection of Native American artifacts and animal
monstrosities, including a two-headed calf. Looking a bit more
like a flea market than a museum, you will also see more than 20,000
Indian arrowheads, fossils, a wide array of bottles and insulators,
farm implements and other antiques.

As you approach this
vintage roadside attraction, don’t be fooled by the cars parked
outside the tower that are no more than rusting hulks. A ruse to
make passing travelers think that crowds are flocking to the
attraction, it gimmick further perpetuates itself with dummies peeking
from the windows in the tower above.

Genoa's Wonder
Tower promises a view of six states once you climb its steep stairs. On a clear day you will supposedly see
Colorado,
Kansas,
Nebraska, Wyoming,
New Mexico and
South Dakota. While this may be a bit of an exaggeration,
the tower does provide a magnificent view of the high plains and the
distant mountains.

Providing westbound tourists their first
sight of the Rocky Mountains, this vintage roadside attraction is
worth a stop to view its wide array of bizarre exhibits.

This small village about twenty minutes west of Boulder celebrates
Frozen Dead Guy Days, a festival held in late winter every year in this
quirky little mining town. Honoring a cryogenically frozen man, who
is kept in a shed in Nederland, the festival features a parade led by the
Grim Reaper, a coffin race, a polar bear plunge into icy waters and much
more.

Coffin Race

Dying in Norway in 1989, Grandpa
Bredo Morstoel's body was frozen and eventually brought to Nederland,
where his grandson lived.

At first the
village of Nederland was not happy with Grandpa Bredo's icy presence, but
they soon "warmed" up to the idea, so much so, that it resulted in Frozen
Dead Guy Days, in an effort to drum up tourism in this sleepy little
village.